Dendrobium unicum

We have seen this dramatic little Dendrobium growing in open woodland in Southern Laos at around 1000m elevation. It is a floriferous species that flowers as a very yopung plant with really bright orange flowers and an unusual veined lip.

The natural habitat experiences wet summers and a long dry season in the winter which starts with a winter cool dry season followed by a hot dry season just before the rains arrive. To accomodate these conditions we move plants around - they love the roof of our cloud foresta greenhouse in the summer and we leave them their until January to get a cool dry period. We then move them indoors to warm them up and this induces flowering.

We grow plants mounted as their small size really works on a mount. Mounting also allows us to water heavily in the summer without the roots getting soggy, and dry plants out well in the winter dry season.